Will brick in the old hole. I needed the hole to be about 1.8m in height and the existing lintel was much lower. hebe - was it a shared chimney breast and how much wider did you make the opening? Thank you - that sounds similar to the chimney breast I am looking at. Then there was lots of plastering required on the chimney breast and in the hole. With 4 rooms of this house having chimney breasts, I got lots of opportunity to try different ways of decorating them, so in this post I want to share 10 chimney breast ideas to help get you inspired for ways to decorate yours! –ever since. The TV bracket can be mounted on the original wall of the fireplace. Thinking two options if not ducting up the chimney but its tight in the ceiling and I really need 5'' min ducting, round or rectangular. Structural engineer? Aside from the value it has added, it's cleaner and safer than an open fire, and brings a focal point to work around when decorating the living room. Today at 8:30 AM #1 Hi All I am about to core drill into our masonry chimney to enable power leads etc to feed through to hide wires from a tv which will be wall mounted. If the joists are trimmed around the breast just start at the top and cut it back both sides as far as you need and take it right down. Chimney breast removal involves cutting away those bricks that are bonded into the Party Wall. Share your tips for saving on your energy bill with ESB Energy, Toilet training expert answers questions on bathroom habits and routines, Talk widget showing discussions of the day & trending threads, Subscribe to Mumsnet emails direct to your inbox. I think there will only be about 10-15cm in front of the chimney breast and I would think minimum depth of a kitchen cabinet is 30cm? 4. I must add that I was not part of the project but asked to assist after the event. Yes, we opened up a previously tiled fireplace and found the original huge opening underneath.We took a sledgehammer to the tiled part then removed the tiles which went round the lintels.You could roast an entire ox in the space. I know we've got a big mental lintel in - but then we also bashed out a wall too. The builder also had to make space for the extractor as the original chimney channel ran at an angle and the builder had to remove some bricks which he initially thought might be load-bearing. I personally adore this look – when homeowners decide to wallpaper their chimney breast with an incredible pattern instead of paint. This is page 1 of 1 (This thread has 21 messages.). The use of colour gave such good depth to the room, made it cosy to chill in, and at a time when we didn't want to invest in a lot of money in improving the flat, it was such an affordable solution. Then there was lots of plastering required on the chimney breast and in the hole. Richie Your chimney breast takes a lot of space in the bedroom it can be tricky to know where to place wardrobes, the bed, chest of drawers and more. They are often a mjor structural part of the house and help with its integrity. Building control at council? I'll ask him if you like when he's home. There's different design ideas you can adopt to combat this though. If the chimney breast you want to decorate is situated in the kitchen like one of ours, a fantastic use of space is to open up a portion of the wall and fit a freestanding or counter-top stove within it. 15 or 30 or 45 degree elbows all can be chosen from depending on how much offset is required. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines. I need to ask DP - we've done it in our 1930s house. What sold the property to us in the first place were the period features, the deep alcoves and wide chimney breasts. Again, not sure how much that cost. I was wondering if I could get a normal cabinet and get my joiner to cut it down to fit so there was effectively a shallow shelf that I could keep spices etc but I have no idea if this would work! That's why built in alcove storage like these double wardrobes either side of the chimney breast are high on our priority list when we come to renovate the final room in our house. By building the frame, you can be creative in constructing the recess for the TV. ARIANA ARMCHAIR MADE.COM £399 - IMAGE: FIFI MCGEE, This post contains affiliate links, for more info look at the disclosure page. Builder says he can't make a decision- something about it needing to be signed off... OK - firstly - your builder isn't very helpful - he could do this all for you! How do you know that there is definitely a builder’s opening (fireplace) somewhere? In this case, it was that the masonry around the door frames had shifted, causing the doorways to be out of square. Do not vent air up immediately in front of the fire opening. A new recess has been formed and the messy part is now out of the way. It's not a shared chimney though - although in the last 10 yrs he's probably thwacked one down in his time! A comfy sofa and a place to relax and watch TV. Freestanding furniture. Not sure if you need a struc engineer...they'd be able to tell you. you need noddy holdershe's always swinging a sledge hammer around, knocking stuff out. It is a structrual alteration so you should seek out building control. It does look good though and has given us an extra 30 or 40 cm of room space.We didn't need any consent from neighbours. However the builders opened it up to its original width which, happily for us, was plenty big enough for my cooker which is 90cm wide and there is now about 10cm either side of it. You don’t. The first is painting the alcoves a different colour to the rest of the room. This dimension will help you work out which course to cut out to accept your lead. Another more affordable chimney breast idea if you don't have a fireplace, is to decorate the area with candles, lanterns, bunting and vases. A lintel that will end up 50+cm above the top of the stove will give adequate clearance should it be necessary (as it often is) to have two elbows above the stove without the lintel being in the way. At least then you won't find yourself staring at your mistakes when you’re watching TV in the living room! to your chimney breast is by getting bespoke shelves built in to your alcoves. Again, not sure how much that cost. So I expect I need to work around it. I need to get something organised! I know it's the outside rather than the inside that you want to do but, I'm sure it'd give a similar effect. Terms and Conditions / Privacy Policy / Contact / Work with us, 10 clever chimney breast and alcove ideas. In the back half we have a closed off chimney breast which we initially thought about knocking down but have now decided against it to avoid losing some of the character of the room. If you're looking for a way to make your chimney breast a focal point using paint, there are lots of different techniques you can try. I do know that the chimney is steel lined as there was a previous back boiler but I was expecting there to be masonry / block before that. Sorry - he doesn't know about the party wall agreement. Has anyone opened up a chimney breast (in typical Victorian house) to create opening wide and high enough for a range cooker? To find this opening, remove the airbrick or ventilation vent, or take out two bricks about 30cm above the floor. Fitting a wood burning stove was one of the first jobs we did in our house after removing the chunky 30s fireplace in the living room. His advice is don't go wrecking in white. The weight of the small area you are removing will be redistributed and carried easily. We did but then we took it out completely.The work will then be signed off (once done or in stages) by whoever building control send out. If you're laying a hearth for example, make sure it doesn't extend too far into the centre of the room, keep it narrow, so you have more walking space. Message deleted by MNHQ. If you're doing a renovation you should download my free guide: The secret to a cohesive home (it's so easy your jaw will drop), How to visualise your decisions + prevent costly mistakes [video class], How to find your home style + not get divorced in the process , There are so many posts on my blog, as well as resources in my shop to help you during this exciting time decorating a house, so please do have a look around :), Who says neutrals are boring? Then, hold the breast with your non-dominant hand and slice the chicken across the tiny white fibers instead of parallel to them. It's also a job you can do your self with a masonry drill and cold chisel. We moved in to our 1930s fixer upper in 2016 and we've been renovating it – from grantastic to fantastic! We help renovators create their dream homes. If the room has a suspended wood floor with air bricks round the outside of the house, then a simple floor grille cut into the floorboards to one side of the hearth or chimney breast is a good solution. It was only the height we changed. Grilles must have a sufficient free open area. Our Renovator’s Design Kit has helped many of our readers nail their layouts (it’s free, give it a try), but one of the best layout tips for tricky bedroom alcoves is to have a wardrobe each. Damp patches and brown water stains on upstairs ceilings, chimney breasts and internal walls are commonly the result of leaks around the edges of chimney stacks where they meet the roof. The main this is it's a huge mess - the actual flue inside is actually only held in with lots of rubble - so it all comes tubbling down. Anyway - as he's not going to do it - you call building control, be as precise as you can and tell them exactly what it is you want to do...they will then point you in the right direction and the next steps to take. Layout can be a headache. Turns out the builders had knocked out the chimney structure in the basement without a thought of supporting what was above it.Gives me goose bumps, even now. Rangemaster Kitchener 90 Cooker + IKEA BAR STOOLS. The action of cutting away the bricks, involves the Party Wall etc Act 1996 and as such means that the building owner will have to serve a Party Wall Notice upon the adjoining owner prior to those works commencing. If you have a chimney (a proper chimney stack) but do not have a recess suitable for even the smallest of solid fuel stoves then you will very likely be looking at an open fire, gas fire, electric fire, little hole in the wall or a boarded/bricked up recess. An obvious one but not to be discounted too quickly as it will add value to your property. This will give you the height you need to cut your apron to (normally about 50mm –100mm up the existing chimney). I am using a cordless drill, set on the hammer setting. Read about us. The very first job I worked on many years ago was the case of a converted old house with about 3 or 4 floors, all owned / occupied by different people. Usually you build out the chimney breast by constructing a timber frame over it, plasterboard it, then skim it over. I know he's not very helpful- I think a lot gets lost in translation! To cut chicken breast into strips, use a sharp chef’s knife that’s at least 8 to 10 inches long. If you’re wanting to make your room roomier by removing this structure, here are some things you should know. Some photos showing the layout. My local council...... is this slightly OTT? Our alcove system perfectly fits our (questionably oversized!) The safest method, as recommended by HETAS, is to use a flexible flue liner. Seems a shame to not do something with it as it takes up space but someone said its about 3k to have it removed per level and there are 2 other floors above a bit. Versatility is always a good thing! Installing a wood burner into an existing chimney can now commence. OH - be very wary of knocking around with chimney breasts and removing very much of them. The joists are working with me but the chimney breast is on the party wall and there are constraints such as lecky, CH pipes and the two kitchen windows, doorway etc. Well, I know removing a chimney breast is expensive because, often the joists for the floor above are built into it and, of course, you have the rest of the chimeny breast to support but keeping the side walls in and removing the front to head height shouldn't compromise the structure too much should it...? A UK Brighton based interior and lifestyle blogger specialising in interior design, modern farmhouse home decoration and country living. Chimney breast definition is - a part of a wall that extends out into a room to cover a chimney. I don't need to remove the whole chimney breast, just create a square hole to a height that i can put a cooker in. To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account. Homeowners look into having the breast wall removed to free up more living space. If you're laying a hearth for example, make sure it doesn't extend too far into the centre of the room, keep it narrow, so you have … Now mark out the opening to the size you want and where the lintel is to be situated[which will be just above the opening],cut out ONLY the area where the lintel is going to sit. I hope this has given you lots of ideas for decorating your chimney breast! If you’re stuck for colour schemes, we have a resource available “The Colour Swatch" that provides loads of paint colour schemes ideas for your home. You can really work wonders with a few carefully selected home accessories, especially if you have a nice mantle to perch things on. If you're adamant you want chimney breast storage but you don't have the budget to get something built bespoke, freestanding furniture can look incredible and provide you with permanent or temporary storage space that's easy to change up or move elsewhere in the room when you fancy a change. There were builders in the basement flat, doing something. They were untouched and primed for us to experiment on with different chimney breast and alcove ideas. If I was handier with the ol' cutting and pasting I'd have done this in our living room, but alas my skills aren't there yet! I'm hoping it won't be too much- if it's 3k that's my whole kitchen budget gone! http://www.prolinerangehoods.com/This video demonstrates how to cut and resize a chimney for a range hood. We commissioned a local carpenter to design us the ultimate chimney breast storage plan. It instantly makes the room feel cosy, and works in all areas of the house, from the bedroom, dining room to the living room. The brickwork on a chimney breast of a 1900s house will be solid brick (not veneer). noddy's got her goggles and ear protectors on. Wise old lady. We didn't need to do anything else though - managed to get an extractor to fit into space and had to put a liner in chimney for the extraction. Nothing has fallen down yet!! This is the rectangular recess in the chimney breast into which the fireback is fitted, which can be quite large in pre-Georgian houses but gradually reduced in size to no more than three square-feet in modest Victorian houses, and smaller still thereafter. Moral of the story - go with your instincts - it's all you've got when it comes to it. Core Drilling into chimney breast that used to have a back boiler. At 2am she heard creaking and fled to her sister's house. We painted the alcoves in our old flat Farrow and Ball’s Eating Room Red and kept the rest of the room neutral with oak floors. The eagle-eyed amongst you will notice a discrete chimney extractor which is the Bosch Serie 4. Tried Bosch masonary bit, but seemed to dull after only a couple of holes. Here we've been able to maximise worktop space elsewhere in the room, and make a real feature of the chimney breast. Looking for a bit of advice to see if this is feasible, we are hoping to maximise space in a kitchen. Chimney breast walls can be quite large and intrusive, taking up a lot of square footage that could be put to better use. Joists are rarely built into chimney breasts and are generally trimmed round with mortice and tenons etc but there can be exceptions. Thanks jean, will get onto building control tomorrow. Your front lead apron will need to be cut into a mortar course of your brick or stone chimney so when cutting your apron you will need to work out which mortar course you are going to fix into. Still no wiser on shared chimney though - sorry. … If you're leaving the cheeks of the fireplace in then it's not too much of a problem - but they'll still probably need to certify the work. An interiors and renovation blog, helping you get your dream home. 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